PHOTOS: MARY VAN BALEN
After the third snowstorm in as many weeks, I am receiving emails from friends who say, “Enough is enough!” One, who knows how much I love snowy winters, suggested I go around town, gather up the white stuff and haul it to Minnesota where I happily spent last year.
When Vancouver is getting rain while children in the usually slushy midwest are building their third or fourth snow man, I am sure climate change is at work. But for those who would will winter away, I have but one thing to say: Savor the gifts of the season.
“Winter gifts,” you say?
1. TIME: Take advantage of those closings that scroll across the bottom of your TV screen. When you are unable to attend some activity on your schedule, don’t bemoan the change of plans. Dust off the book or magazine you have not had time to read. Write a letter. Bake cookies with the kids. Build a fire in the fireplace, sit in front of it, and do nothing. Take a nap. Look at cancellations or slick roads not as an inconvenience, but as a gift of time.
2. BEAUTY: Even if you hate the white stuff, you have to admit that it transforms everything it covers. The trash you still have to haul to the back is no longer an eye sore; it is a mound of pure white. Unkempt gardens, remnants of last fall’s leaves, anything that is less than lovely when in view becomes a freeform sculpture. And what about a bird perched on tree branch, shrubs and red berries with tall white caps, evergreen branches drooping with loads of snow looking like they came right off a Christmas card? As Pete Seeger sings in his 1964 song “Snow, Snow” even barbed-wire is beautiful in snow.
3. QUIET: Have you ever noticed how snow muffles sound? Step outside and listen to the quiet. Fewer cars, fewer people, and what noise remains, even grating, irritating noise, is muted.
4. PLAY: When temperatures are moderately cold, snow offers a chance to play. Getting past interia and thoughts of unbearable cold is the hard part. Once you put on boots, coat, hat, and gloves and step out into the weather, you may be surprised to discover that human beings can function just fine on a winter day. build a snowman or be creative and try something else. My brother’s last work of snow art was a five foot squirrel! Do children live near-by? Grandchildren visiting? Have them join in the fun.
Go sledding or for something gentler, take a long walk. Front lawns are like galleries. Instead of tacky plastic snowmen (and women), you will see the real thing.
5. FOOD: What is better than a warm cup of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies on a cold day? Maybe with a splash of Bailey’s. Steaming cups of coffee or tea spiked with something alcoholic for those so inclined. Comfort food tastes even better when munched while looking over a moonlit snowscape.
I can hear the protests. My mailbox may fill up with objections. But I still say, snow is here weather you like it or not. Instead of grumbling, enjoy it’s gifts.
© 2010 Mary van Balen
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